1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a clip or fastener used for removably mounting an instrument cluster, a center cluster or other members (which will be referred to as a "cluster" hereinafter) to an instrument panel of an automobile.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, a fastener of this type is made of a spring metal plate. As shown in FIG. 15, the conventional fastener 200 is constituted of a substantially V-shaped fastener body 201 and a pair of opposed gripper tongues 202 inwardly stamped out from the fastener body 201. The fastener body 201 has opposed shoulder portions 206 each of which is designed to engage an inner edge of a mounting aperture 242 formed in an instrument panel 240 on which a cluster 230 having an insertion rib 232 is to be mounted. Further, one of the gripper tongues 202 is formed with an engagement lip 204 which may engage a thin slot 234 formed in the insertion rib 232 of the cluster 230 when the fastener 200 is fitted to the insertion rib 232 by engaging the gripper tongues 202 with the insertion rib 232.
The fastener 200 is previously fitted to the insertion rib 232 of the cluster 230 by engaging the gripper tongues 202 with the insertion rib 232. The insertion rib 232 of the cluster 230 with the fastener 200 is pressed into the mounting aperture 242 of the instrument panel 240 until seating surfaces 237 of the cluster 230 contact an outer surface of the instrument panel 240. At this time, as shown in FIG. 15, the fastener 200 is inserted into the mounting aperture 242 with the insertion rib 232 of the cluster 230, so that the shoulder portions 206 of the fastener body 201 securely engages the inner edge of the mounting aperture 242. As a result, the insertion rib 232 is fixed in the mounting aperture 242 of the instrument panel 240. Thus, the cluster 230 is mounted on the instrument panel 240.
However, the conventional fastener 200, when fitted to the insertion rib 232 of the cluster 230, may easily incline or loosen since the gripper tongues 202 of the fastener 200 cannot be sufficiently stabilized on the insertion rib 232. This is because each gripper tongue 202 is of the point-contact type, which provides a very small area of contact with the insertion rib 232. As a result, troublesome work is required to mount the cluster 230 onto the instrument panel 240. Further, in a worse case, the fastener 200 fitted to the insertion rib 232 may accidentally fall off from the insertion rib 232 during handling of the cluster 230 before the cluster 230 is mounted on the instrument panel 240.